Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SCOTT GOES FOR HIS THIRD CHAMPIONSHIP
The junior pole-vaulter is ranked fourth in the nation . TRACK & FIELD 16B
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009
WALK-OFF HOME RUN RUINS STRONG START
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KANSAS 67, OKLAHOMA STATE 52
PAGE 1B
The streak stops in Stillwater
Danielle McCray dominates as Kansas ends its 14-game road losing streak in Big 12
BY JAYSON JENKS jenks@kansan.com
STILLWATER, Okla. — As the final seconds ticked away, and the asies inside Gallagher-lba Arena filled with orange- and black-clad fans, Kansas' players and coaches stood, applauding in an otherwise silent gym.
The faint clapping and screams may have been Kansas' most important cheers all year. In a season characterized by losing games
late — and with a 14-game road conference losing streak clinging to their backs — the lajahys shed both trends by defeating Oklahoma State 67-52.
"When they went on a run, we
"When they went on a run, we stayed tough. We didn't separate like weak teams do."
stayed tough," sophomore forward Nicollette Smith said. "We didn't separate like weak teams do. That's what got us through the end of the game."
Kansas has often used hindsight to recount missed opportunities this season. The Jayhawks have suffered four-game losing streaks twice since starting Big 12 play.
But since the start of this
NICOLLETTE SMITH Sophomore forward
month, coach Bonnie Henrickson has been preaching a simple message to her team: February serves as a tipping point.
For full coverage of the Kansas vs. Oklahoma State women's basketball game, check out the Rewind on page 48.
Every indication hints that the Jayhawks are getting better.
"I'm a firm believer that in February you don't stay the same." Henrickson said. "You either get worse or you get better. Teams don't stay the same. In February, you're either playing for something or you've lost the chance to play for something."
Fresh off an upset of then-No. 21 Iowa State on Sunday, Kansas used an aggressive defensive effort and timely scoring from junior forward Danielle McCray to pull away from Oklahoma State.
McCray, who
ranks second in the conference in scoring average, keyed Kansas' offense by tying a career-high with 30 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
That McCray made 9-of-13 attempts is impressive. That she did so at crucial times in the game with defenders draped on her is even more so.
"She hit tough shots. I mean, she never got an easy look," Henrickson said. "I thought they got up in her and she hit tough shots and big shots."
In previous games, the second half has spelled doom for Kansas. At times on Wednesday, that trend appeared to take form.
Oklahoma State cut Kansas' lead to just two with slightly less than four minutes left. But the Jayhawks responded, scoring the final 13 points.
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 4B
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Head coach Bonnie Henrickson and her team say thank you to the KU fans in Stillwater after the game on Wednesday. The Jayhawks won the game, 67-52. It's their first Big 12 road victory in 14 attempts. Junior forward Danielle McCray scored 30 points to lead Kansas.
Forward finding three-point stroke
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Marcus Morris' outside shooting is keeping opposing defenses on their toes
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Freshman forward Marcus Morris rushes toward the basket during the Jayhawks 87-78 victory over Oklahoma on Monday. Although Morris has only taken 14 three-point this year, he has made 5-11 during conference play, helping keep double teams away from Cole Addich.
It's 30 minutes before practice starts and Marcus Morris is already on the Allen Fieldhouse floor shooting.
Weston White/KANSAN
This is routine for Morris, a freshman forward. He used to say he shot 200 three-point shots before every practice, but his teammates didn't believe it so he's changing that estimate.
"They said I was over-exaggerating last time," Morris said. "So maybe I will say 100 or maybe 50."
Either way, that's a lot of repetitions for a power forward who spends most of his time around the basket during games. Morris, however, has never conformed his game around being a traditional big man.
UP NEXT
Despite his 6-foot-8 frame, Morris played mostly on the perimeter at Prep Charter High School in Philadelphia. Many of his 1,325 career points there, a school record, came from behind the three-point line.
"Back in high school, I shot it a lot," Morris said. "I wasn't even hesitant in high school. Every time I got the ball, I basically shot it."
Morris hasn't fired three-point shots that frequently in his first
Kansas vs. Missouri Sunday, 1 p.m. Allen Fieldhouse TV: CBS (Channel 5-13)
TV: CBS (Channel 5,13)
year at Kansas, but he has attempted 14 of them. He's converted on six and has gone 5-for-11 since Big 12 Conference play began.
That Morris has shown the ability to make them is what is important to Kansas coach Bill Self, who says Morris' three-point range complicates opponents' game plans. Self said it forced defenses to "stretch" and cover more ground when a frontcourt player could make threes.
"It ites because they really can't trap Cole down there," Little said, "because they have to get out to the shooters."
Because of how often he shot in high school, Morris developed a reputation as a big man with range before ever playing a college game. Little heard about it before arriving on campus this summer.
Junior guard Mario Little has noticed a different benefit.
"I don't put it past anybody being able to shoot," Little said. "But when we first met each other, we came and shot in the gym anyway, and I figured out they could shoot."
He had no reason to be skeptical. Little soon learned the rumors were true.
By "they," Little also means Marcus' twin brother, freshman forward Markieff Morris, who doesn't shy away from taking three-point shots either. Although Markieff doesn't shoot as often as his brother, he's still 3-for-10 from
three-point range this season.
Markieff has only taken one three-pointer in Kansas' last five games, a misfire against Nebraska. Marcus missed his only attempt in Monday's victory against Oklahoma, but made his only one against Nebraska Saturday.
But what's pleased Self the most about the Morris twins lately is how they've played when their shots aren't falling. Last week, Self singled the brothers out as a reason why Kansas was playing better.
But that doesn't mean Marcus is going to stop shooting. As long as he's at Kansas, it will have a big man who is capable of stepping out and hitting a three-point shot.
COMMENTARY
"The biggest difference to me is Marklew and Marcus." Self said.
"Those are two factors we didn't consistently have earlier in the year. Now, they can impact the game even when they don't shoot the basketball well."
The lajahwies will also have a big man who is always early to practice to work on his shooting, even if his estimates aren't always accurate.
--- Edited by Andrew Wiebe
2
Fans could influence next year's recruits
Kansas' 70-53 victory over Nebraska last Saturday appeared to be a routine squash of an overmatched squad subsequently expelled from memory after a thrilling Big Monday in Norman, Okla.
Not so.
Last Saturday inside Allen Fieldhouse could potentially be one of the more significant days for Kansas athletics. If so, it was because of who was in the stands not on the court.
Having signed its most lauded class to date this year, Kansas foot ball hosted more than two dozen of the most high profile recruits to set foot on campus for its biannual Junior Day.
The cream of the 2010 crop arrived early for a comprehensive tour of campus, athletic facilities, academic support staff and met with the football coaching staff before they watched a game inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Be thankful the band took precedent over arena rock and that the Phog faithful responded with a more spirited showing. Allen Fieldhouse needed to be at its fabled best. After all, Wichita quarterback Blake Bell is also entertaining offers from an expansive list of schools including Georgia, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
Columbia, Mo. defensive lineman Chase Rome has offers from Oklahoma and Wisconsin and finds letters from Southern Cal. Florida and Alabama in his mailbox.
Recruits choose a school for a myriad of factors - proximity, a liking taken towards a coach - but a good deal of players can be influenced by an impressive day on campus.
Before leaving Junior Day with an offer Saturday – as reported by Rivals.com – Wichita running back Joseph Randle's lengthy travel itinerary included visits to Arizona, Louisville, Kansas State, Missouri and Texas A&M. The idea that the student section could do anything to leave a mark on a blue-chipper is not merely birthed on message boards.
The next Junior Day will be April 11, Kansas' spring football game. For the current team, it is a chance for a final display in Memorial Stadium before the fall. For those in attendance, it is another opportunity to entice the next crop of possible players.
"The crowd was great, they were really funny," Rome told Rivalts.com
"Everybody's status kind of changes day-by-day, it just depends on who I am talking to that week," Rome said.
But with trips to Oklahoma State and Kansas State scheduled between now and March 7, Rome may lean more toward the flavor of the week than for the next year as his peers are likely to do.
These days the waves of wheat flow in a path opposite that of decades past for Kansas football. As they will once more in April, the most significant collection of talent to visit Lawrence sat near one another Saturday with the potential to comprise an elite team one day.
Behind and all around them sat those who could aid that process.
Edited by Carly Halvorson